Former FSU track athlete sentenced to more than 6 years

Aug. 05, 2017

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A former track and field athlete in Florida is going to spend more than six years in prison after she was convicted of using stolen identities to file fraudulent tax returns.

The U.S. Attorney's office said that the 28-year-old Teona Rodgers was sentenced Friday and was also ordered to pay more than $151,000 in restitution.

Rodgers was on a track and field scholarship at Florida State University when she took part in a scheme to file fraudulent tax returns for 2011 and 2012 by using other people's personal information.

Authorities said they discovered the scheme in 2013 when notebooks and debit cards in other people's names were found in an apartment she had vacated. The personal information was used to file 64 fraudulent returns seeking nearly $466,000 in refunds.